Hedgerly followed at a little distance. He wanted to see Peter's face when the young man read the certificate and found out who he was really married to. Furthermore, Hedgerly wanted to be there to point out who was wedded to whom and why.
Peter accepted the certificate and put his arm around Joan with a fatuous expression. Tony kissed Marie. They all started for the door.
Hedgerly ran forward, but the parson stopped him. "Hedgerly," he said, "you made one mistake. Never, never, never, try to hurl any woman at any man's head. They both resent it. And never, never, count on anything as being certain. And always, when you're trying to juggle the future, be certain of the true ancestry of those who have a definite part of it. I'll offer you a lift, Hedgerly, for I'm going your way, but not as far."
"But ... but—"
Parson Hedgerly smiled. "Two couples," he said, "happily married to the right people—by their own son! Yeah, Hedgerly, you're not the only one who has a good probability of being. But your probability is slipping from decimal point to decimal point right now—and I doubt that you are even a shadow of your present self by the time we finish this trip back home."
THE END.